In high school, teachers really only taught you what you needed to know for the test, which engraved in my mind and the minds of others that we only needed to study what was given to us. This kind of teaching taught me that learning didn't venture very far outside the walls of my high school. Since I succeeded doing just as so, I never really believed that I needed to change anything at all; I thought that no matter what I would always continue to get good grades.
My summer after senior year it came as a big shock to me that although I had maintained a 4.0 average all throughout high school, I didn't seem to be all that educated. I knew everything that I was taught, but I had no idea about anything going on in the world and I had little opinions on things that I heard about outside of school. I realized then that I wanted to be a growth learner. I wanted to challenge my opinion and research things that interested me, even if they were outside of my comfort zone. Also constantly being around little kids at work, the taught me that the world is full of curiosity and knowledge, and we, the 21st century learners have the ability to search and ease our curiosities and expand our knowledge, even of things we aren't interested in; I believe that knowledge isn't just knowing everything about one topic, but rather knowing many different kinds of information, about a broad variety of topics and ideas.
As an Elementary Education major, I want to challenge myself to knowing about all different types of learning and facts about topics going on all over the world. I want to search and learn things that I never knew about, because I have been given this amazing opportunity as a college student in the technological age to learn anything that my heart desires. Although, of course, I am going to study what it is I need to know in classes for tests, because that's just how I've been breed, however that does not have to stop me from also using that knowledge and information to expand.
I do not think that a person can only have one mindset and only have one type of learning they want to achieve. I want to have good grades and do well, but I also want to learn and absorb every bit of information I am given, while at the same time feed my curiosities with research and random findings. Nothing is black and white, set in stone; you can be any kind of person you want to be and do whatever you want with the knowledge you receive, so why not use it?
My summer after senior year it came as a big shock to me that although I had maintained a 4.0 average all throughout high school, I didn't seem to be all that educated. I knew everything that I was taught, but I had no idea about anything going on in the world and I had little opinions on things that I heard about outside of school. I realized then that I wanted to be a growth learner. I wanted to challenge my opinion and research things that interested me, even if they were outside of my comfort zone. Also constantly being around little kids at work, the taught me that the world is full of curiosity and knowledge, and we, the 21st century learners have the ability to search and ease our curiosities and expand our knowledge, even of things we aren't interested in; I believe that knowledge isn't just knowing everything about one topic, but rather knowing many different kinds of information, about a broad variety of topics and ideas.
As an Elementary Education major, I want to challenge myself to knowing about all different types of learning and facts about topics going on all over the world. I want to search and learn things that I never knew about, because I have been given this amazing opportunity as a college student in the technological age to learn anything that my heart desires. Although, of course, I am going to study what it is I need to know in classes for tests, because that's just how I've been breed, however that does not have to stop me from also using that knowledge and information to expand.
I do not think that a person can only have one mindset and only have one type of learning they want to achieve. I want to have good grades and do well, but I also want to learn and absorb every bit of information I am given, while at the same time feed my curiosities with research and random findings. Nothing is black and white, set in stone; you can be any kind of person you want to be and do whatever you want with the knowledge you receive, so why not use it?